Snow

Today we have an east wind storm with a combination of freezing rain and snow coming down. The weather is nasty enough that Tucker and I decided to not walk this morning. I am sure that Tucker thinks the weather is perfect but you are talking about a dog who loves to roll in the snow. In fact just last week he went (willingly) for a swim in the lake.

So today we are sitting inside looking out. From this vantage point it is fun. The lake is rolling and covered with whitecaps. It is definitely not boating weather. Gunflint is so deep (over 200 feet in places) that it is one of the last lakes in the area to freeze. Many of the smaller lakes are frozen over now. Gunflint usually freezes over between the 10th and the 15th of December.

Snow is intermittently coming down. Sometimes I can see the far shore and other times it disappears in the falling snow. We have just a dusting of frozen stuff right now. Everything is iced over and slippery. It’s nice that we don’t have to drive anywhere today.

After lunch I think we will start a fire in the fireplace. The fire not really needed for physical warmth. Today it provides a spiritual warmth that no electric heater can match. The living room will be so hot after dinner that Bruce and I will fall asleep in front of the TV for sure.

With any luck we will wake up tomorrow with several inches on the ground. At this point it will be the beginning of our base for the cross country ski trails. Hopefully we will get lots more in the coming weeks. There is nothing better than lots of snow for Christmas.

A Friend Visits

We are having very warm weather for this time of year. It was 38 degrees this morning and overcast. Bruce thinks is supposed to rain. I am hoping it will hold off until evening when the weather cools down and we will get snow instead.

In our home the earth is filled in on the exterior walls up to the bottom of the windows. It is like so many of our cabins. This extra insulation really keeps the house cozy all winter with very few drafts. It also cuts down the heating bills.

This morning I walked into my office where there is a large west-facing window. Who should be running right along the window but Freddy the Fox. I ran into the bedroom and watched him go along the bedroom window. Then he turned the corner and appeared across another bedroom window. I ran down the hall to see him go into the back yard by the bird feeders. He was moving pretty quickly -- must have been on the hunt.

We have lots of squirrels around too. Sometimes Freddy will chase a squirrel but with no luck. Behind the rock walls in our garden, the squirrels have built lots of little dens. The first sign of Freddy and they scamper into one of the dens.

At this time of year the fox are beautiful. Their fur is thick and their white tails stand out straight and thick. They must be really soft to feel. We are torn between putting bits of meat and bones out to attract the fox and thinking about when Tucker visits. Tucker likes the scraps too. He has already lost one tooth because he chews the bones so hard. At this point our grand-puppy comes first.

It is wonderful to live in an area where we can easily see animals in their natural environment. My children never got really excited about zoos. Why would they get excited about a scraggly moose or wolf in a zoo when they saw magnificent ones in the wild?

The Kerfoot family had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we hope that you did too.

Saturday Afternoon

I am just like many other Americans today. Bruce and I are about to sit down and watch the last half of the Michigan/Ohio football game. I'll start the fireplace and find some snacks. After the game we are going down to Lee and Eva's for dinner.

I can remember days when TV was not as available as today. When Bruce and I were first married, we had a directional antenna that gave poor reception from two stations in Thunder Bay. It didn't work very well in the summer because the leaves on the trees interfered with reception. We did, however, get enough reception to watch Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. All the guests gathered in our home to share the moment. I also remember feeling very left out when we could not receive "Roots."

Our next venture into TV came with a Betamax -- you remember those as the alternative to VCR's. Our friend, Ron Malina, in Chicago would copy a bunch of movies and programs for the boys. They would watch them over and over and over again. At that time I think I could recite the entire dialogue from "Top Gun."

Eventually dishes made their way up the Gunflint Trail. Ours was 13' in diameter and gave very good reception. When we first hooked up, I remember being on the telephone with a salewoman. She told me to turn the TV on while she contacted the satellite. In just a couple of minutes we had a clear picture. I was amazing to me that I could be in Minnesota talking to a woman in Atlanta who was talking to a satellite above me.

With our irregular schedule, the greatest channel in the world was CNN. We could come home at anytime and get daily news. After a bit, we learned to fall asleep after one or two rotations of the same news. Robert's wife, Miranda, stayed with us the year before they were married. She learned the same trick.

About that time we passed a milestone in our life. We bought a brand new TV. Previously we bought used TV's. When the only way to turn our current TV on was with a pencil, I argued for a new one. Both boys were in school and I figured we ought to be able to afford one. Finally Bruce agreed to go to Sam's where we picked up whatever they had.

Today we have the little dish that gives us more channels than we care to watch. We tried to sign up for local channels earlier this fall. The only two white pines on the southern side of our home blocked the local channels. The white pines stayed and we will read local news in the paper.

We find ourselves watching less and less TV. I still like to watch football in the fall but only if it is not good weather. Otherwise I'm outside. Satellite TV reception does make us feel part of the country again but we have lost the desire to follow weekly programs. Books, magazines, and newspapers are more interesting. Also Rachel Ray on the Food Network. Last night we saw her cook Thanksgiving dinner for eight in 60 minutes. It looked good, too.

Well, the second half is about to begin. Talk with you later.

Home Again

After 5000 miles of driving, Bruce and I arrived home last night. Our own bed felt pretty good. In spite of all the driving, it was a wonderful trip. We got to visit with old friends and brought home some great display material for the Chik-Wauk Museum. We will be home until after Christmas now.

It seemed like the neighborhood prepared a special welcome for us. The new white snow on the ground looked particularly nice. Bruce was dying with the heat in Brownsville so he really appreciated the snow. It is late enough now that this snow may be here all winter.

Driving up the Trail in the late afternoon, we saw two critters cross the road some distance ahead of us. They looked like ponies. We finally figured out that they had to be huge wolves. One was completely black. Both were the biggest wolves we had ever seen.

This morning Eva, Tucker and I took our morning walk. Coming back a beautiful bald eagle flew overhead and landed on top of a snag just off the road. The eagle sat and watched us as we walked past. They truly are magnificent creatures.

Today we will fill the bird feeders and see what comes in. A squirrel and a chickadee stopped by during breakfast to remind us that the feeders were empty. Bruce will also put out some suet to draw them in. I don’t expect to see any deer until the hunting ends on Sunday. Then it will be time to put out some corn and see what happens.

It is good to be home. I will catch up on all the goings on and let you know what is happening here.

Weather in the Woods

On the 2nd we had a great crew up at the lodge for our first fall work weekend. They got lots of projects done and really helped us get ready for the winter. If you are coming up for the second work weekend, don’t worry, we will still have some other projects to complete.

Since my last posting we have gotten nothing but progressively warmer weather. On the 3rd it got a little warmer. Many guests checked out of their cabin, but stayed on the property to enjoy the perfect hiking weather. So we handed out orange vests and they enjoyed the afternoon. Everyone who is in the woods right now is wearing orange because deer hunting season has started. We have a large collection of orange vests for all of our guests to wear anytime they are in the woods during this time of the year.

The 4th and 5th slowly kept warming up enough that we started to actually plan some warm weather activities for yesterday and today. So we have been taking advantage of these last couple of warm days to paint our property sign, get more rocks for the fireplaces we are building in the cabins we will be renovating all winter, or doing other odd jobs to help prepare the resort for the upcoming winter season. Additionally we are building new staff housing right now so the construction crews are really taking advantage of the warm weather to get the outside work done as quickly as possible, knowing that eventually the temperature will start to drop again.

This warm spell has convinced us that it feels more like a warm spring day then one of the last days of fall. With all of the snow days we had been getting prior to the 40’s and 50’s of yesterday and today we had been getting out our winter jackets, boots, gloves, & hats to make sure they would be good for another season. But now with the warm weather we are looking around for those light jackets again.

Sometimes Mother Nature really has all of us confused.

Just a "Dusting"

Eva and I were enjoying the 31st when we got a knock on our door. Surprise, surprise we had one batch of trick-or-treaters. The key word is “one” batch. It was a total of 8 kids. So we let them take as much of the candy as they wanted because we knew it would probably be the only group of kids stopping by.

When I was growing up and we went trick-or-treating at the neighbors (all of the neighbors were resort owners), we used to always get the “big” candy bars. As a kid when we got the “big” candy bars it was a little bit of a downer because we really wanted the “little” candy bars that were made for Halloween. So Eva and I made sure to have plenty of the “little” candy bars for the kids. Plus we had to save a couple of these treats for us…because they are so small they can’t be bad for you, right?

After the kids had left I noticed that they had been wearing winter boots underneath their costumes. That reminded me of the Halloween of 1992. October 31st of 1992 we (my brother Robert, my best friend Aaron, Aaron’s Sister Tracy, and I) were driving home late from town. On the drive home it started to snow. About ½ of the way home we stopped the car to see how much snow was on the road. We all piled out of the car and determined that it was “only a dusting” and had nothing to worry about.

We made it home that night without any problems. The next morning we awoke to almost 30” of fresh snow, so much for just a “dusting”. The best part of November 1st was the phone call from the principle telling us that school was canceled for the day. Yes! A snow day! Unfortunately we had to shovel out our resort so we didn’t get much of the day off from school, but it didn’t matter because we were “snowed out”.

When Eva and I woke up on the 1st we didn’t see snow like November of 1992, but we did have a “dusting” of snow on the ground. I guess 2” is better than 30” because you don’t have to shovel out the resort in the morning.

On the Road

I am going to give you a vacation from my blogs. Tomorrow Bruce and I leave on a driving trip. I look at it as a mixed blessing. We’ll see lots of people but also have lots of driving.

Tomorrow we drive to Minneapolis in two vehicles. I have our car to drop off at the dealer for tires and minor repairs. The car’s computer needs some maintenance because it talks too much to us. Bruce is driving our big red van loaded with stuff (including a motorcycle) left by employees from 17 years ago.

By Sunday we will be in Destin, Florida with just one vehicle. Rick and Beth will drive over from Ocala to pick up their stuff. Bruce will teach some classes at an annual outfitters convention. I’ll attend some classes.

Wednesday we drive to Harlingen, Texas. There we will fill the van with some furniture from the old Chik-Wauk Lodge on Saganaga Lake. Ralph and Bea Griffis, the last private owners of Chik-Wauk, are donating this furniture to the new museum. I think the van is going to be filled to the roof.

Our last stop will be in Omaha, Nebraska, on the way home to see some guests who have become great friends of ours. Both of us are looking forward to seeing them. Then it is straight back home. We should be home on the 14th if all goes well.

Neither of us have really tried to figure out the total mileage of the trip. Luckily we travel well together. It’s our waistlines that we are really worried about. Traveling all over does tend to put the pounds on.

Of course, I can’t close without the inevitable note about the bird feeder. Last week we had a cardinal at the feeder! This is nothing new to anyone living in Grand Marais or further south. It is, however, the first time I have ever seen a cardinal up here. Even Bruce has only seen one once or twice. The bird must have been well and truly lost. One of the neighbors down the lake saw him at her bird feeder. He hasn’t appeared again so he must have figured out which way is south.

I’ll talk with you again in a couple weeks.

Foxy Lady

I have to tell you that at this time of year my bird feeder is about the most exciting thing going on around here. When Bruce’s mother, Justine, was writing her weekly newspaper column, this was when she would call pleadingly to say, “Have you got any news for the fish wrapper?” I thought about her today.

Saturday night we had an unexpected visitor to the feeder. As we were eating dinner a beautiful red fox came in. She walked down the steps as relaxed as could be. Coming around the corner, a squirrel caught her eye and the chase was on. The squirrel won.

Then the fox returned to help herself to some scraps of food that I had put out. I am trying to clean out my freezer and a few things have been in there too long. The theory is that it is better to feed the fox than fill the dumpster. At any rate the fox picked up a couple pieces, walked off to eat them and then came back for more. Freezer burned ham tasted pretty good to her.

The thing that amazes Bruce and I is how bold the fox is. We are sitting in a fully lighted kitchen with the window not 10 feet from the fox. She doesn’t seem to care about us at all. I wonder if the glare from the glass makes it difficult to see us.

All summer long we have been seeing fox on the Gunflint Trail. During the summer they all look scrawny and very, very thin. Well, partridge hunting has been particularly good this year and the fox must be getting their share. Just like our fox at the window, suddenly they are all beautiful. They’re fat, the fur is thick, and their tails are as full as can be.

Recently I was talking with a group of neighbors. They all had stories to tell about seeing animals. Tom and Melissa have several “pet” partridge on their road. Bruce doesn’t hunt there. Margit saw a pair of pileated woodpeckers on a walk. She was able to see where their nest was. Someone else has been seeing fox too.

We are blessed to live in a very special part of the country. Anyone who lives here can observe the local animals just as we do. It is a wonderful addition to the rhythm of our lives.

Bird Feeders

We don’t feed the birds during the summer. If we try, the bears quickly and regularly find the feeders. Bears are not animals that you want to have around the house. Now that they are going into hibernation, the bird feeders have gone up.

It usually takes a few days before the birds find our feeders. This year the chipmunks and squirrels found them first. The chipmunks are really hungry since they will soon be hibernating. The squirrels are always hungry. They are also great fun to watch. This morning I stood for several minutes watching two of them chase each other around the yard.

We are also getting a couple of migrating birds at the feeder. Juncoes are stopping by in good numbers. Who knows how they find us out of all the places they pass during migration? Also the grackles are passing through. Neither bird will not be here much longer.

The regulars have found us. Chickadees and nuthatches are in every morning. Blue jays and Canada jays stop by. Pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, and purple finches have not found us yet.

I keep forgetting to buy suet when in town. Once that is up, we will start to get hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers and an occasional raven. My problem with suet is keeping it from the animals. We have martins and fox wandering around. They will eat the entire suet in one night. Tucker also tries to get at it.

By far our biggest raiders of the feeders are deer. They are plenty of them around and will be more after hunting season when the lodge starts putting out corn. Deer have learned to suck all the seeds out of a feeder. In one night all four feeders are empty. Even if I put out corn, the deer still empty the feeders.

So bird feeders (like all of life) present choices. We choose to feed whatever animals come along. With the flowers gone for the winter, every animal gives us entertainment outside the kitchen window.

Building A Cabin

It's a cold windy day today. Even though there are snow flurries in the air, the wind seems to be breaking up the clouds. Maybe the sun will shine. It would be a great improvement from the gray day we had yesterday.

The wind and the flurries brought to mind another fall in 1946. Dr. Katie Burns had finished her World War II service in the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station. She along with her mother, sister, and brother-in-law were going to spend the fall and part of the winter building a cabin on Katie's property on Gunflint Lake. Much of the process was recorded in a series of letters that Katie's mother wrote to the youngest daughter who was in college at the time. Katie also wrote an essay on the project.

In the beginning of August, the family moved to the shores of Gunflint Lake. They camped in two tents on platforms until the house had a roof on it. A third tent on a platform served as their kitchen/living room. A fourth tent held supplies. Their luxury was a hand pump by the kitchen sink. It took them ten days to hand dig the well with a crow bar and trench spade.

Although there was a road down the south shore of Gunflint, it was 600 feet from the house site. That meant that every part of the house had to be portaged from the road. The other alternative was to bring supplies in by boat. Katie said they brought the first load of lumber down by boat and it took a day and a half to do it.

Construction went slowly because there was no electricity. Also no one had any real building experience. They had only read books about building a cabin. After seven weeks the cabin was enclosed with four walls and a roof. By then the weather had gotten to the point where camping was not much fun. The bears were also getting very brazen and had found their way into camp several times.

Although they continued to sleep in the tents for a bit, they were able to put the hand water pump into the kitchen of the house. Between that and the stove, cooking and eating were a little easier. With just the outside shell, the house was not too warm. Mrs. Burns writes that the inside temperature was "under 60."

The next most important project was to build the fireplace. You have to understand that none of them had ever done this before. All fall they gathered rocks. It took five weeks of work to build the fireplace. The really low blow was learning that the completed fireplace had to sit for two weeks before they could use it. You can imagine how wonderful that first fire felt!

The last step that winter was insulating and finishing the interior. Walls were erected. Stairs were built to the second floor. Flooring went in and was hand sanded before filling, staining and waxing. It was on-the-job training for all of these "carpenters" and they were very proud of the results.

Today it is hard to appreciate the difficulties that Katie and her family encountered building the cabin. Construction supplies were hard to get. Even grocery shopping was a major project. You called in a grocery order from the only phone at Gunflint Lodge and it was delivered by the mail truck which only came three days a week. They baked their own bread. Meat was in short supply. It was hard to find time to fish for food with all the demands of construction. At one point Mrs. Burns wrote, "My present problem is to conjure up a dinner out of 5 wieners -- our only visible meat supply." No electricity meant no freezer or refrigerator.

It was sixty years ago this fall that Katie and her family built the cabin. On cold fall days like today, I wonder if I would have been able to do it. Katie is now around 90 years old. She still summers on Gunflint Lake and is as sharp as a tack. Her stories of those early years have entertained and amazed me. Hopefully someone will say the same about me when I reach that age.

A Brush With Winter

After my last blog, you know that we got a little snow around here. Thankfully, it was not as much as some parts of the East got. Nevertheless, we got about 6 inches of snow at Gunflint. There was more at the highlands around Poplar Lake.

Friday was the actual snow storm day. It was a the perfect day to be inside looking out. We had a blistery wind with snow coming down off and on throughout the day. Bruce and I
cranked up the fireplace. All of our outside garden projects were finished. We felt very smug standing in front of a blazing fire. Our homemade soup dinner tasted great and fit the outside weather.

Bonnie Schudy, our outfitting manager, had a little different experience on Friday. She and a friend from town were on a canoe trip to Long Island Lake. Coming home on Friday they had to go through Rib Lake. As you may know, the water in all our lakes is very low this fall. Rib is never very deep so the water in the lake was down to 3-4 feet in depth. Unfortunately for Bonnie, it was just cold enough so that a skim of ice covered the lake. They had to break ice all the way across the lake to paddle home!

On Saturday morning the temperatures started to rise. Bruce and I went to town on slippery roads. Coming home in the afternoon, the road was dry and bare. The sun was out.

Sunday was also nice and warm. The wind picked up in the afternoon. The staff had started to put the dock across the lake while there was no wind. We disconnect the entire dock from the main cribbing. Then it is pushed like a barge across and tied to the shore in Charlie Cook's bay. It sits there all winter. In the spring the ice totally melts out of the bay with no wind problems. When the ice leaves the entire lake, we push the dock back for the summer. But going over this fall, the guys had to fight the wind that came up in the middle of the project. It is finished now and everyone is happy.

With all the cold weather, some outside jobs got behind schedule. So the crew who is laying the cement blocks for our new staff building was working on Sunday. After the blocks are laid, then they have to pour the cement pad for the new building. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the warmer weather holds.

When Bruce was pouring the pad for cabin #24-25, the weather did not hold. They poured the cement anyway because there was no choice. Then the pad was covered with plastic. Finally the plastic was covered with sleeping bags unzipped to lay flat. The plastic and sleeping bags provided enough insulation to slowly cure the cement. It was a close call. It was also a mess to clean and wash all the sleeping bags.

Today virtually all the snow is gone. The wind has shifted to the east which is our foul weather wind. Bruce and I are going out to cover the small white pines so the deer don't eat them. I saw two deer at the top of the driveway this morning. We have already covered the maples and lilacs. Then I am going to cut down the last of the burdick seeds and get rid of them.

Tucker is coming down to spend the afternoon with us. He just loves to poke around outside. If he runs around enough, he may even go for a swim. The other day when we hiked into Mine Lake with snow and rain, Tucker took time for a swim in that lake. I can't imagine anything worse.

Have a good day. I know I will.

Adjusting to the Weather

Bruce and I had planned to go with Lee, Eva, and Tucker to Judge Magney State Park on the North Shore today. We were going to walk into Devil's Kettle and then visit some other spots on the shore that Eva had not seen.

As you may know, we are under a winter storm watch today. During our wanderings at night we watched the temperature drop from 47 degrees at 4:00 a.m. to 33 degrees at 8:30 a.m. There was a nasty wind on Gunflint and some of those fluffy white things coming down. It didn't seem like the time to drive 65 miles and hike along Lake Superior.

On the other hand we didn't want to give up on the day. The five of us don't get many days to do stuff together. So we came up with a plan that worked for the day's weather. First we all dressed warmly. Even though it is October we had on long underwear, hats, gloves, etc. Second we picked a hike that didn't expose us to the wind. In other words we stayed in the woods. Finally we picked a hike that was near to home. That way if the weather really turned sour, we didn't have a long drive home.

We ended up hiking in on the Kekakabic Trail to Mine Lake. Eva had never been in to the lake. There are still some remains from the mining operations of the Paulsen Mine in the 1890's to be found along the lake.

In its day things were really hopping at Mine Lake. People thought that it would become a center for iron ore mining. Geologically, this area is part of the Gunflint Formation which is the tail end of the Masabe Iron Range. There was a railroad built from Thunder Bay to the mine. They took out one carload of iron ore and discovered it was taconite. Edward Davis did not develope his refining process for taconite until many years later so that was the end of mining operations.

Today it was just a nice hike for us. Tucker had lots of sticks to chase. We threw snowballs like kids. Mine Lake is small and quiet but very pretty. It is hard to relate what we saw today with what we know happened in the past.

But my point is that no matter what your plan is, you can always find a pleasant way to spend some time in the woods. The key is to be willing to adjust to the weather. In many respects it was a stinky day outside but we had a great time.

Daily Encounters

One of the nicest things about living up here is that I have encounters with the resident animals almost every day. Now you realize that none of these encounters are a big deal. They just add a little extra zest to my days.

Let's take yesterday. The human part of my day had me taking my walk in the morning. Then I spent the rest of the morning at my computer trying to get caught up. The afternoon was in the garden getting a little section ready for winter. That night we drove down to a neighbor's home to look at movies from the 1940's on the Gunflint Trail. Nothing exciting there.

There was no wind at all during my walk. I don't walk with an Ipod or anything because I like to hear the natural sounds around me. The reward yesterday was hearing something rustling in the bushes along the side of the road. I stopped and finally located a grouse not 10 feet from me. He was not happy at being seen and quickly flew off. How many other grouse had I already walked by?

Part way into the walk I met Eva and Tucker. We walked the remainer of the road together. At one point a raven fly overhead and cawed at us. Even Tucker looked up to watch the bird.

At the end of the walk, I was coming down the driveway and noticed a squirrel alongside me. He was happily munching on a mushroom cap. I think it is one that we wouldn't eat but obviously he was enjoying it. It was easy to watch him for a few minutes.

My office at home has large windows that look out over some iris and the sky. About 11:00 the phone rang. While talking, I often look out the window to see what is going on. My reward yesterday was a bald eagle flying by. The bird quickly was out of sight but it makes your heart jump for just a second.

That afternoon we were out getting more of the garden ready for winter. As is often the case, Tucker was with us. He will run around for 3-4 hours while we dig, pull weeds, and spread horse manure. It was hard not to watch Tucker and the squirrels and chipmunks play tag together. Of course, Tucker always lost.

Finally last night Bruce and I drove to Hungry Jack. We saw several deer along the way. It's the usual about now. But we did notice that the deer are starting to change from a reddish brown hide to their more grayish winter hide.

So my day was filled with lots of small encounters. Each one was no more than a couple minutes. These encounters constantly remind me that there is another natural world surrounding and intertwining with the lives we humans lead. Sometimes it's hard to remember that in the middle of a city.

Taking Our Dog Tucker into a New "Wilderness"

In our family Eva gets the first walk of the day with our dog Tucker. The morning walk takes Tucker on the fringe of the wilderness down our side road.

Usually the morning walk is 2 mile round trip hike. Upon returning to our office Tucker takes a nap until after lunch time. Then around noon, My wife or I take Tucker on a walk down the side road for a much shorter walk so he can stretch his legs for a couple of minutes. After his mid-day walk he takes another nap until the late afternoon. Eventually Eva tries to coax me away from the office for a late-afternoon walk with Tucker. We take him into the wilderness, off all the roads, and only on the hiking trails.

When you are walking in the wilderness it is easy to see first hand how Mother Nature is getting everyone ready for the upcoming winter. All of the leaves on the trees are in peak fall colors, the grouse were on the trail eating trying to fatten up, and we saw some geese overhead flying. Tucker loves this hike because it is continually changing. Recently we have been seeing a grouse or two on the hike. Tucker usually sees the birds, stops, stares them down, then takes off full speed trying to catch them. He doesn't bark, or growl, just runs full speed. The grouse always see him and easily escape to nearby branches. Once they are safe in a tree, Tucker returns to the trail and eagerly waits for you to throw the next stick. Tucker's life returns to his normal routine.

This past weekend we took Tucker into a different “Wilderness”. It was a wilderness he had never seen before. We took Tucker to the Twin Cities. This was his first time into a city of any size. We were participating as a vendor in DoggiePalooza at Hyde Park, in Saint Louis Park. When we are getting ready to go on vacation, Tucker gets upset every time he sees us packing our suitcase. This time Tucker was going to join us, but no matter how we tried to get him to relax he didn't understand he would be joining us, until we let him jump into the car before pulling out of the driveway. We left "Our Wilderness" around 6:00 PM and didn't get to "Your Wilderness" until midnight.

When we got to our hotel room, Tucker immediately sniffed the entire hotel room. After the once over he decided that the bed we brought for him was unacceptable. He slept on the couch in our hotel room.

We got up early Saturday morning drove to Hyde Park and set up our booth. Tucker had never seen this many people at once. This was a foreign "Wilderness" to him. There were tables being set up, booths were being decorated, people we walking everywhere with their dog in tow. Dogs in all shapes and sizes were everywhere. A big giant Irish Wolf Hound was followed by a tiny dog being carried in a lady's purse. Needless to say Tucker did not get any naps in and was totally exhausted when we loaded up our booth into the back of our car and started the drive North. Tucker only woke up once on the drive home, and that was when we stopped for gas. Being a "New Wilderness" can be totally exhausting.

Morning Walks

After almost two weeks of overcast and rainy days, this morning dawned with clear skies and sunshine. As I started started my morning hike, Eva and Tucker plus one of the guests and her dog joined me. Walking down the bright sun was in our eyes and it felt wonderful.

Of course, we paid for sunshine with a hard frost last night. The frost was do to happen anytime soon. Most of us who live here love the winter and the first frost is just a step along the way to winter. Anything left in the garden is truly done now.

It was fun to watch the two dogs play as we moved down the road. I bet they covered twice as much ground as we did. Every so often Tucker to stop and stare into the woods. You wonder what he is seeing or perhaps smelling. All the time the dogs are walking and playing, their tails are wagging back and forth. Living on the Trail is heaven for a dog.

It wasn't too bad for the three humans either. Fall colors are at their peak. Due to the frost the air was freeeze and clear. I suppose the English would say it was "bracing." There is a slight fall smell to the air that is the smell of decaying leaves. To me it is a very distinctive part of fall.

Coming home the sun warmed our backs. The two miles evaporated as we talked and walked and watched the dogs play. Tucker flushed a partridge on the side of the road. A Canadian jay flew overhead. In the distance a crow told us what he thought. The slight breeze in the trees provided the background music. Our field of vision periodically opened up with views of Gunflint Lake.

I hope there is a place to walk in the woods near your home. Walking brings you truly "into" the country. It is entirely different than driving because now you are a part of the surrounding forest.

Bruce and I have made several trips to Africa. One of our favorite places is the Serengeti in Tanzania. We have spent many days observing game in the endless plain. On our last visit we had a coffee break in the middle of the plain. It was the first time we had gotten out of our vehicle. Physically standing (rather than being in a car) gives you a different feel for the vastness of this area. I loved it.

The same is true in the woods. There must be something deep within our ancestry that recognizes and responds to having nature surround us. Think about it the next time you take a walk.